The Masks Go On

To date I have made around 20 masks for family and neighbors. They go rather quickly now that I have my system down, and am using elastic instead of having to make cloth ties. It has been fun to try and personalize the fabric for the wearer, such as my neighbors who have a golden retriever. I just so happened to have that pattern on some fabric, so they each got a doggy mask. Here is a sample of some of the additional masks that have been completed so far.

face masks

We were able to check out a small local farmer's store in a nearby town a couple days ago. It is newly opened, so we thought it would be safe to shop there to pick up some fresh produce. Did they ever have some beautiful strawberries! I picked up a couple gallon containers, one for us and one for a neighbor. We also got some nice looking tomatoes and some bacon to go with them. BLTs and strawberry jam occupied my day yesterday.

strawberry jam

community garden plot

Our little community garden plot is coming along nicely. It was a little cold last night, so we were worried about how the new plants would do. But we stopped by there today to water the bed, and things are coming along quite nicely.

In terms of the new normal, we continue to stay in our neighborhood with the exception of going to get food or water the garden. Knock on wood, there are still no cases of the virus in our community of Imagery. In fact, there are only 6 known cases in our township. I'm quite aware that these numbers are very deceiving. Most people cannot get tested for the virus even if they have all the symptoms if they can't answer a few key questions in the affirmative. One example in North Carolina is that you must have come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days. In other states, you must have recently traveled to a location that is a hotspot for the virus. So we know that many people have the virus but just don't show up on the statistics due to a lack of testing. There are also people who are asymptomatic yet have the virus. Until an antibody test is developed which will show if a person has had the virus or not, the numbers will be very inaccurate.

In the meantime, tomorrow is Easter Sunday. Our state, it its infinite wisdom, is allowing religious gatherings. While I can hope that people will worship from home, I don't think that will be the case. I predict that in the next two weeks we will see a surge in cases as people who attended services contract and spread the virus.

However, the beauty of this area surrounds me, and lifts my heart when this world situation threatens to drag me down with it.

sunrise on Mountain Island Lake